Tuesday, May 22, 2012

The Kathleen Grattan Prize for a Sequence of Poems 2012

This annual competition is run by International Writers' Workshop NZ Inc and has been made possible by a bequest from the Jocelyn Grattan Charitable Trust
Details of the 2012 competition are now available.

** The Prize **
There is one prize of $1250 payable to the winner. The prize is shared equally if there is more than one winner.


** Introducing the Judges **
Stu Bagby
Stu Bagby is semi-retired and lives on a five-acre block of land in Albany, Auckland. Previously published in Auckland University Press’s New Poets 2, his first full collection of poems, As it was in the beginning, published by Steele Roberts, included The boys and was nominated in the Sunday Star-Times by Kevin Ireland as one of 2005’s best books. Stu is also the editor of A Good Handful: Great N Z Poems about Sex (AUP) and Just Another Fantastic Anthology: Auckland in Poetry (Antediluvian Press). His most recent collection of his own poetry, So goes the dance, published by Steele Roberts, was released at the end of 2010.
Jenny Cole
Jenny Cole, Publisher at Cape Catley Ltd, is the daughter-in-law of the late Dame Christine Cole Catley.  While not a poet herself, as a reader and lover of poetry, manuscript assessor and publisher of poetry collections, Jenny brings a different type of critical eye to the judging of the Kathleen Grattan Prize in 2012. Cape Catley has published poetry collections from Kevin Ireland, Elizabeth Smither, Vivienne Plumb, Siobhan Harvey and Johanna Emeney amongst others.


** Previous Winners **
Mairangi Bay poet, Alice Hooton, won the inaugural competition in 2009 with her sequence America. The judges said this about Alice's sequence: " a real sequence; a stand-alone collective piece . . . an interplay of parts  . . . haunting . . . they can't be exhausted on a single reading". The prize money helped Alice to launch her first collection of poems, Shamfeign, earlier this year, and the sequence leads IWW's 2011 Anthology, Beyond The Persimmon Tree (see www.iww.co.nz/book.htm).
In 2010, Janet Charman and Rosetta Allan shared the prize. Janet's sequence, Mother won't come to us, was described:  " . . . the grim and complex themes this poet deals with are more powerful than anything else we had to read this time. Again and again individual poems stood out with a kind of gloomy ferocity ... Dark and clever and hopeful, too. There is a net gallows humour about your work; a lopsided smile." Rosetta's sequence, Capricious Memory, was described: " . . . It builds in power as one reads . . . innovative in form as well as subject matter. Bravo! Unquestionably good work . . . You are adventurous with form and this is a strength."
Jillian Sullivan from Wellington won last year's competition. Her 16-poem sequence, how to live it, written as the year unfolded, sustained the judges' attention. They said:  " . . . a sensitively connected sequence . . . tender, understated sophistication  . . . well constructed . . . wide ranging in technique . . . experimental without losing personal voice  . . . an honest voice that didn't get in the way despite literary references . . . very good work."


** How to Enter **
Entry into the competition is restricted to financial and honorary IWW members resident in New Zealand, including any new member whose membership application form is received by post prior to our meeting on Tuesday 19th June 2012 or by hand at our meeting that day. Membership is $25 if electing to receive newsletter by email, otherwise $30, plus a $10 joining fee.
Copies of the competition rules are on the International Writers' Workshop website - www.iww.co.nz - go to the competitions page.
Postal entries must be received prior to Tuesday 2nd October 2012. Hand-delivered entries will be accepted at our IWW meeting that day. The winner will be announced at a lunchtime prize giving function on Tuesday 20th November 2012.
For more information, contact Sue Courtney, sue@iww.co.nz, ph (09) 473 5110


International Writers' Workshop NZ Inc
PO Box 36652
Northcote 0748



Footnote:
Several people wrote to me after the above post asking me if this is different from the award of the same name run by Landfall and with a bigger prize? They said it seemed to have the same name but a different list of previous winners.


I contacted the IWW's  Sue Courtney about this and here is her response:



It is a different prize, but as both prizes have been made from the Jocelyn Grattan Charitable Trust, it has become confusing.  According to the terms of the bequest, the prize that International Writers' Workshop offers is The Kathleen Grattan Prize for a Sequence of Poems, and the prize that Landfall offers is The Kathleen Grattan Award, with substantially higher prize money.

Similar names but often misused as information about the prizes propagates through the media channels.

Here's how I described it in the press release that went out last year with news of the 2011 winner (Jillian Sullivan).

The Kathleen Grattan Prize for a Sequence of Poems has been made possible by a bequest from the Jocelyn Grattan Charitable Trust. It was a specific request of the late Jocelyn Grattan that her mother be recognised through an annual competition in recognition of her love for poetry and that the competition be for a sequence or cycle of poems with no limit on the length of the poems. It is one of two poetry competitions funded by the Trust, the other being the prestigious Kathleen Grattan Award run by the publishers of Landfall magazine.

Further footnote:
Thanks Sue for clearing up any confusion.

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